1. Field of the Invention:
The present invention relates to a quick release seat pedestal for mounting, for instance, a seat from the floor of a vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
The present day popularity of recreational vehicles and vans is due in part to the flexibility of these vehicles. An entrepreneur may find a benefit in the vehicle which serves both as transportation for family outings and as a delivery vehicle. Easily removable vehicle seats can greatly increase the utility of such a vehicle by providing increased cargo space for deliveries while permitting more seating when required.
Another trend in vehicle design has been the increasing search for structures which absorb energy to the passenger in the event of a collision. The search is complicated by the need for structures which will deform in a controlled manner to absorb deceleration energy but not collapse. An overly rigid structure transfers all of the stress of a collision to the passenger, increasing the risk of injury. A structure lacking sufficient strength, however, might collapse prematurely or uncontrollably under the impact of a collision causing the passenger to suffer secondary jarring or impact.
The need for flexibility in vehicle seating has lead to the proposals of numerous different mechanisms for locking a seat or a seat pedestal into place on the floor of a vehicle. Examples of such prior removable vehicle seating (or seating pedestals) are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos.: 4,277,043; 4,376,522; 4,396,175; 4,667,917; 4,759,580; 4,789,126; 4,805,952; 4,865,377; 4,971,379; 5,125,711. Unfortunately, none of these references addresses the need for a seat pedestal structure which will positively hold the seat in place during normal operating conditions and which is easily operable to be released from the pedestal floor to be quickly removed in an efficient fashion to free the vehicle floor of any significant obstacles.
Many of these references include a base or floor plate which could present an impediment to vehicle loading when the seat has been removed. Notable among these is U.S. Pat. No. 4,805,952 which includes a base plate with a section that is sharply raised to be formed with two transverse slots. This raised portion with its large slots would present an obstacle to the task of fitting objects into the vehicle without damage. In addition, the person loading the van would have to exercise care not to trip over the raised portion or catch his or her feet or shoes in the slots.
Also problematic is the base shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,667,917 with its transverse elevated bar. While adequate for its intended purpose, it must be recognized that the bar remaining in the vehicle after removal, not only presents a trip hazard to persons moving about in the vehicle but presents an obstacle to objects resting flat on the vehicle floor.
Another problem with the prior art is the complexity of the connecting and locking mechanisms and the potential for an insecure connection allowing for the seat to wobble and shake under vehicle motion. U.S. Pat. No. 4,667,917, for example, includes a base with a transverse bar. The seat pedestal includes a rotatable hook with a handle. The hook connects around the transverse bar to lock the seat into place. In practice, however, it is difficult to construct the bar and the hook with sufficiently close tolerance so that the hook fits snugly and firmly enough around the bar to positively prevent the seat from shifting during vehicle movement. The U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,759,580; 4,865,377; 4,971,379 and 5,125,711 also employ hooks to hold a seat or pedestal in place. In all these cases, the use of the hooks makes for a complicated and somewhat unstable design. In addition, these designs require that the seat be carefully aligned with respect to the base in order to be attached.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,789,126 describes a seat pedestal which locks into place primarily by means of a rotatable locking pin engaging with a circular locking ramp. Although this device also includes three tab/slot combinations to reinforce the connection between base and pedestal, the presence of only one locking point produces a device with some lack of stability.
U.S. Pat. No. Des. 331,342 shows a pedestal design which could deform during impact in such a manner as to help protect the passenger from the collision impact. However, the release employed in practice to hold the pedestal in place fails to provide for secure and stable mounting while providing for a quick and convenient release for removal of the pedestal.
Pedestal anchorage devices have been proposed which incorporate base plates formed with a raised annular track defining an upwardly facing surface formed with key holes within which is received cleat-like fasteners mounted to the underside of the bottom plate of a pedestal box. The box then also includes a retractable pin so that the box may be positioned on the base plate with the cleats received in the enlarged portion of the key holes, the box then rotated to slide the cleats into the elongated grooves of the key holes and the pin then released to lock the box in a rotary position relative to the base plate. A device of this type has been marketed by a company related to applicant, Adnik Recreational, Inc., Elkhart, Ind., under the designation "Removable Pedestal". The box was configured with outwardly and upwardly sloping side walls to collapse and provide energy absorption upon impact. Such devices, while enjoying commercial success and providing satisfactory performance, required the user, in order to release the pedestal, to retract the locking pin, rotate the box and lift it off the seat plate in a rather awkward maneuver. Such removal required torquing or rotating of the box and to release the cleats from the keyways. Consequently, any irregularity or deformity between the box and base plate could result in the locking mechanism becoming hung up thus resisting relative rotary movement and requiring application of greater torque forces. Such requirement for increased torque forces then increased the likelihood of back injury or the like to the pedestal installer. Also, the base plate required an annular raised ring which could contribute somewhat to instability of the mounting of the pedestal box and could fail to provide the desired support for controlled collapse of the pedestal upon impact to thereby possibly reduce the effectiveness of the pedestal box to absorb energy upon impact.
Other box pedestals have been proposed which incorporate a channel-like structure defining an upwardly facing wall, vertical side walls and inturned bottom flanges which were then attached to the rib work of the vehicle floor. A device of this type has been marketed by Auranco Metal Fabrications, 2009 Middlebury Street, Elkhart, Ind. 48515. Such devices have proven awkward to install and remove from the vehicle and do not exhibit the desired strength to assure secure support of the seat and fail to provide for any controlled crushability upon impact of the vehicle.
Consequently, there exists a need for a seat pedestal assembly in which a seat mounting box element could be quickly and easily connected with, and later easily released from, a base plate element attached to the floor of a vehicle and in which presents a solid, wide-stanced connection between pedestal and base. There is also the need for a seat pedestal assembly which will deform under the impact of a frontal collision in such a manner as to cushion the impact of the collision on the seat occupant.